Chapter 2

This is dedicated to my darling Lily and my soul mate Rhea, without whom this chapter was impossible.

Disclaimer: This is a pure fanfiction with author rights only on the plot and not the pretty characters owned by their creators.

xoxo

The morning rays streamed through the netted window on his face. He squinted to the light and opened his eyes begrudgingly. He splayed his arms around searching his sheets for her warmth but only found her lingering smell in her bed instead. He was lying on his stomach and found his legs tangled in her sheets. He lifted his head and looked around for her. A phone call from his office assistant woke him up completely, "Yeah, Junaid?"

And his day begins.

She's stirring the pot slowly; this dessert needs slow deliberate stirs to add the flavour to the dish. The smile on her face has made a permanent appearance since last night. "Sanam!" She hears him shout out.

And her day begins.

Where is she? Why isn't she here? Does it mean nothing to her? Is she still playing with him for his money? Thoughts in his mind, especially the last one is grating on his nerves. He needs to go to office and distract himself. "He can't keep thinking about this girl," he tells himself. There's no breakfast on the table. "What's the point of employing a cook if there is no breakfast served?" He mutters under his breath, and then he shouts out, "Sanam!"

She carefully pours the dessert in the bowl and picks the bowl in one hand and breakfast platter in the other. Precariously balancing the two, she greets him with a smile. Angry look on his face dims her smile and just as her face retracts her smile, he smiles back. "Does he even realise how beautiful he looks with a smile on his face?" Sanam's thought startles her. She proceeds to place the breakfast on the table and gestures him to begin the feast.

"God her smile lights up his day." He sits at the table and all his insecurities vanish with the burst of flavours in his mouth. He moans in delight and glances her way because he can't stop looking at her. The look in her eyes halts his breathing. "Does she even realise that her mouth is slightly open and her tongue is peeking out to lick her lips?" His thoughts thrill him. He offers a bite to her.

His offer was unexpected and she respectfully declines. It's surprising how they haven't said a word to each other. As if they don't need to. She is brought out of her musing by a spoon on her lips, he insists. She opens her mouth and tastes her dessert. She moans at the perfect texture though she does wish she gave it another minute to cook to get that perfect colour. Oh well she will do better next time. She opens her eyes and is surprised to see his reaction.

Her moan, it brings back the worst memories. His body goes rigid and his fingers refuse to move. This is the first time he has heard her moan. Yesterday - flashbacks of yesterday are mellowing his body slowly - he noticed yesterday how she never moaned at all, she was breathy yes but she was quiet. She was perfect. He felt her hand on him and instantly his skin was on fire and his memories were getting dimmer.

He held her hand so tightly she thought he'll crush her fingers. His pain was clearly visible on his face and she didn't even realise when her hand extended to his to comfort. Why is he in pain? He was the one who offered her to eat; does it hurt him to feed her? No, maybe it was her reaction; she mentally slapped herself for moaning. Did her moan make him react? Why though? She has so many questions. She looks at him with all the curiosity in her eyes.

He could almost read the questions in her mind they were that clearly visible in her eyes. Her eyes, those aren't as hollow as last night. Is it him? Does he help her like she helps him? Can he trust her not to hurt him? Somehow, he doesn't know how but something inside him trusts her. Trusts her not to hurt him and that's what makes him say, "Ask, I'll tell you what I can."

"Why?" The question leave's her lips without her understanding exactly what is she's seeking an explanation about. Why did he want to tell her? Why is he so sad? Why has he done this to her? Why is this morning so different from the others? She doesn't know what she wants to be answered first. She places her other hand on his hand leaving it on him to decide how he wishes to answer the open question. She's pleasantly surprised that his answer is a smile.

"Why?" Such a simple question. But not just one question. She's asking everything and nothing in one word. It brings a smile to his face because it proves him wrong once again. She's smart; she's not a Barbie doll with no thought process. It's a relief because she's nothing like the woman he's been around all his life. He turns to her and says with a smile, "Small steps jaan, how about we start with small questions instead of existential ones? I would like to ask you a few things too? I'm as curious about you as you are about me." Her answering smile fills his heart with hope.

xoxo

Questions and Answers are long winded conversations to most, not to Sanam and Ahil. Once they started talking it's like they couldn't stop. But they had an unsaid unwritten understanding of not letting anyone know about their newfound relationship. This lead to the most curious ways of communication between the two. He would leave a paper beneath her pillow asking her about her favourite movie. She would ask his favourite colour by drawing on his fogged bathroom mirror. It became a game to them, who is more creative or more discreet.

Their relationship slipped most of Ahil's family member's attention. Somehow their small smiles and quick kisses were missed by them. Their smiles were once traced by Rehan, Ahil's best friend, but he didn't know of the reason behind them nor did he ever see them smile at each other. He was happy that Sanam was more upbeat these days; she looked beautiful with this near constant small smile on her face. But he also noticed how some days were much sadder for Ahil than others.

Not all questions were easy or fun for both of them. That night when Sanam asked Ahil his favourite memory of his birth mother, it was no fun. Ahil's painful description of his past slashed her heart. She felt so helpless facing the open window with nothing to lean on. She leaned into him instead. She listened to him pouring his pain out in words. She hugged him and prayed to god that she would absorb his pain and relieve him from it. Her body against his was the best ointment to his wounds. He held her close and drew strength from her. That night, they slept in crying hoarse each other's arms.

"Drunk in love, this is what it feels to be drunk in love." He murmured against her pale skin in an early light of dawn. He needs to wake her up or someone could catch them. No one can catch them because the world will destroy them. Their bubble is safe. They are safe. They trust each other, they love each other. They are almost always together, they sleep beside each other. Some days, they are wrapped in each other's arms in the morning, some days she's tucked under his arm. They can't sleep well without the comfort of the other anymore. One night when Sanam spent the night at her grandma's house, they talked on phone for some time but they were both really tired, they ended up on the phone all night just to hear the other one breathe.

He remembers how she held him when he cried all night in her arms. Last night, she told him about losing her parents and how she knew they were murdered but had too many responsibilities at the age of eleven and that took precedence to avenging their murder. She doesn't remember her parents, she should love them, she said and that she does but she loves the idea of her parents more likely. He was afraid after hearing the kind of so-called parent he had if she would still love the concept of parents, he's glad she decided to hate the man not a father. She told him he wasn't a father; he doesn't deserve to be given that respect. He wonders if he deserves such a perfect girl. He can feel her stir in her sleep. He kisses her lips to wake her up. "She needs to get back to her bed. One more kiss and I'll let her go," he thought.

One kiss became twenty and half an hour and bruised lips later, Sanam tip-toed out of his room into hers. Thanking god that no one saw her. No one saw her that was true. But someone felt her. Ahil's mother that is visually challenged is very keen of hearing. She could hear someone's padded feet coming out of Ahil's room. She assumed they must be from some random woman Ahil is currently keeping company and dismissed it. Sanam on the other hand, took deep breaths once inside her room to get her heart rate normal. She got ready for the day and realised she's late for preparing breakfast.

She didn't even glance at the mirror before she left her room and her wet hair went flying behind her. Halfway through she realised she's not completely dressed and she ran back to her room to put on her pants. Ahil saw Sanam running to her room and followed her, worried at the distressed expression on her face.

Sanam wears her pants at express speed and buzzes to rush back when Ahil blocks her gateway and shuts the door behind him. He reaches for her face and cups her cheeks softly and asks, "Are you okay sweetheart?" Huh? She wonders, he never called her that word, what does it mean? He smiles and repeats the question, "Jaan? You okay? Why are you so stressed?" His question reminds her of how late she's running and she explains to him at express speed at how late she is. Her haphazard explanation makes Ahil laugh so hard that cat of the house hisses loudly at it. Rehan observes the unusual behaviour of the usually quiet cat but dismisses it quickly and resumes musing about breakfast cooked by Sanam, her cooking is sensational and someday when he gathers enough courage he might just tell her.

"Shhhh..." Sanam plants her lips on Ahil's. Best way to shut someone up. Ahil naturally deepens the kiss but she detaches their already bruised lips and asks him to leave because there will be no breakfast if he doesn't. Ahil has loved her breakfasts since she made him write a list of his entire favourite breakfast foods along with breakfasts he wishes to eat in his lifetime and thereafter made breakfasts sticking only to that list. He loves the small box of snacks that she sneaks into his car for munching at work. Some days, there are two boxes not one and the other box contains the answer to his question, like her favourite childhood game. That box usually has another question by the end of the day, like why does she hate the colour silver? And so it goes.

xoxo

It's raining again. The noise is back, pitter-patter, pitter-patter. Another rain, another window. Strange, it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. Sanam made Ahil talk about it so much that he started to remember the good days as well. The good days were far and few in between but they're good memories to have. He used to love his mother cooking his favourite bean rice on a rainy day; those memories were long forgotten behind all the hurt caused by his father. Ahil is surprised at how far he and Sanam have come. It's been months to the last rain. The rain that changed his life.

Is it a co-incidence that it's raining today too? Last rain, Ahil filled Sanam's life with hope and happiness. This rain, this time it's her turn. He's hinting at it from few weeks now, she knows what he wants to hear from her. She knows from that first rain that things have changed forever. They will never be the same. And she loves what they've become. She loves what he means to her. She loves what she means to him. She loves him. And today, today she will tell him what he's been waiting for her to say. He won't say it, she knows. He hopes that she loves him but doesn't want to hope because no one he knows has really loved him. Not even his foster mother that he loves unconditionally. Deep down, he knows that's a one way street. Sanam feels proud that she knows and loves a man like Ahil. His struggles and his life, they make him a made-man. The type of man her grandma always told her about. She's going to tell him, right after this special dinner.

Dinner that night was quiet. Sanam gave Ahil a huge surprise when he saw his long-forgotten favourite bean rice for dinner. He thanked her immensely through his eyes; she had to know what it meant for him. She beamed a smile in return. Ahil saw Rehan turn to Sanam and he looked away from her. Rehan saw Sanam smiling brightly with her eyes closed, her smile faltered his heartbeat. He loved the bean rice and told her so. Ahil snapped his neck to look up to her; he saw her blush at Rehan's compliments. He's never seen her blush outside their bubble. Her blush is his, only for his eyes. "Mine!" his mind screamed at him. Ahil noticed Rehan's satisfaction at Sanam's blushing thanks and his fists clenched. He told himself that this is Sanam and she blushes in his mere presence without sweet words directed at her. He told himself he doesn't ever need to worry because she loves him. She does right? He doesn't compliment her like Rehan did. Is that what she wants from him? Rehan's next sentence snaps him back from his thoughts.

"Have some please? You have to know how tasty this is. I insist," says Rehan. Sanam respectfully declines and when Rehan insists further she profusely refuses. Rehan feels frustrated at her insistent refusal and decides to be bolder, he offers her a bite from his spoon. Sanam is about to refute his offering when she hears a clang of spoon on Ahil's plate.

"Stop it! She said no! She's allergic to beans, she won't eat it!"

All eyes are at Ahil's face after his sudden outburst. Rehan is visibly shocked at Ahil's rudeness directed to him. He feels guilty for forcing Sanam to eat the rice but is even more surprised that Ahil even knows about her allergies. "How does Ahil know? He's never even in the same room as Sanam let alone talk to her." Everyone on the dinner had that same question written on their face. Ahil realises his slip the moment it leaves his mouth. He needs to leave this table before he sees her face. He doesn't want to see her reaction. It will break him if its fear or disappointment. He can't answer the question written on everyone's faces. He pushes his chair and walks away, takes two steps and walks back, picks up his plate and takes it to his room. Everyone is staring at him walking up to his room. His footsteps match the pitter-patter of the rain, same as Sanam's heartbeat.

That night when Sanam entered Ahil's room she found him staring at the raindrops on his window sill, standing completely still, like a statue. She hugged his broad shoulders from behind and felt his stiff body loosening under her touch; he placed his hands on hers and absorbed her warmth. She turned him around and planted a soft kiss on his lips. She smiles and says, "You took the plate." He scratches his neck averting his eyes from hers, he looks down and mumbles, "Couldn't exactly leave it to get cold, it was amazing." She lifts his head with one finger and grins, "just like Mum?" He shakes his head making her lose her smile. "Much better, just like my jaan," he says, bringing her smile back. He hugs her close to him and breathes her in. She always knows what to say to him.

She's lying in his arms about to drift off to sleep when she remembers what she planned to tell him today. "Ahil?" she nudges him. "Hmm?" he pinches back. She tells him she wants to tell her grandmother about them. "Tell her what?" he asks. She knew his reaction would be to ignore the obvious truth so she patiently tells him that they should tell her grandmother about their relationship because she doesn't want to hide anything from her anymore. Ahil realises from the seriousness of her words that he needs to ask her, really ask her that one question before they involve other people in their bubble. "Are you sure?" he asks quietly. She asks him to clarify and narrow down his vague existential question like he asked her to do all those days back that first morning after 'the' rain. He rubs his hands down her arms and asks again, "Are you sure about me? You are so much better than me. You could get someone so much better than me. I mean, you're so loveable, I can already see Rehan-"

She flips her body at hearing Rehan's name and straddles Ahil. She slowly brings her forehead to touch his and asks him softly, "Do you still doubt?" Me? Us? My feelings? Your feelings? He smirks at her vague existential question that asks more than one question but understands her unsaid words just as clearly her said words. He shrugs vague response to her vague question. She flicks her eyes to his shrug and back to his eyes. The uncertainty in his eyes and the reluctance to include her in his real life halts her plans to kiss it better. The moment she halted her plans, she heard him say, "No. Whatever you're thinking, no. Please, let there be only one of us that has a doubt if at all." He kisses her lips and doesn't stop kissing till she kisses him back and pours out all her agony in it.

xoxo

She takes both his hands and places them on her love handles. She presses her breasts on his chests and proceeds to bite his lips thoroughly. Her kisses were slow and then rough and then they became downright painful because she bit him hard. He took it all and gave it right back. He squeezed her waist and lifted her to remove the offending clothes on her. She dug her fingers in his waistband and removed his t-shirt. Soon, clothes went flying in succession and their heavy breathing and kisses, licks and bites were the only noises heard.

He shifted his hands to her ass, squeezing a little and kneading it. She started kissing his neck and chest, small kisses, kitten licks, she was driving him mad. She then switched to sucking his skin, taking bigger bites out of his chests. She was a woman on a mission today, leaving dark red marks on his skin. She softly kissed his scar above his navel, dragging her lips across the welt because she knows the pain behind it. He once said her kisses absorb his pain and since then, this scar and many others are her special places to kiss him.

Her soft lips against his skin are too much for him, he cups her face in his palms and sits up to thoroughly kiss her lips and proceeds to kiss her neck. He kisses her neck and her collarbone. He licks between her breasts while rubbing her nipples with his thumbs. He palms her breasts and squeezes them softly at first and firmly when he moves to the top of her breasts where he kisses, licks and bites her long and hard. Her sharp intake of breath makes him stop. He immediately takes her nipple in his mouth and sucks on it. He takes small bites on her nipple too, she loves those small bites. Not to make the other nipple feel left out he takes that between his teeth and pulls at it.

She stills his biting and pinching and pulling by thoroughly kissing his lips and slowly pushing him back on the bed. She can feel him, hard behind her ass. Warmth of his cock burning her backside, she slides down him and puts her hands on him like he taught her, she's fascinated with his cock and it boggles her mind that someday he will put 'that' in her. She pumps his cocks faster as he bucks his hips in her hands and just as he thinks to slow her down so he can give her pleasure first, he feels her soft lips on his barely holding it cock and the scenes of his cock inside those lips make him lose his control and he pushes her away to save her from the stream.

She didn't know kissing it would make him react like this but she's sure she liked it. She slowly comes back and kisses his lips softly. They drift off to sleep for some time when she remembers her question and how it's still unanswered. She moves to straddle his crotch and slowly runs her palms on his chest and rubs her pussy on his cockhead. "Do you still doubt?" she whispers, rubbing his hardening cock. "No. I never should've doubted at all. I'm sorry, it's difficult for me –" She kisses his lips, "Who am I?" she asks him. "Sanam." He automatically answers; she shakes her head and asks again, "Who are you?" "Ahil," he answers. "Sanam's Ahil," she completes. "Ahil's Sanam," he smiles.

"What we have, do you honestly think I have this with anyone else?" she emphasises on this by pressing further into his erection, enough to make the tip of his cock feel her wetness. "Never. You're mine, only mine." She stops rubbing and lifts herself from his cock, he flips her and places her on her back, he proceeds to kiss and lick every part of her neck and breasts telling her every small thing he knows about her. He tells her everything she knows about him. He tells her he never doubted their feelings for each other, he just never wanted the world to create any problems between them. He flips her again and she lies on his chest.

They talk all night about his potential fears and her flicker of doubt. Slowly before the first rays drifted through the window, they were both drifting to sleep when she asks him, "Do you still doubt?" He looks straight in her eyes and says, "I love you too, no, there's no doubt." She grins sleepily and mumbles, "I love you so much." She's off to sleep when he realises that another rain has changed his life yet again because now he's Sanam's Ahil and she's Ahil's Sanam and its time the world knows about it.

xoxo

Translation: Jaan means life.

This is it, thank you. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be back with something else hopefully sometime soon but this story ends right here. Just so you know, you will make my day if you send me a review. Thank you again.

Also, special thanks

To Richa: Thank you for being my first review, I smiled for a week straight thinking "Eeeeep! I have a review!"

To Tanya: Marry me? I insist. Girl, you have no idea what you have done to my heart. Wow, your review stilled my beating heart. I would love to write more and I'm replying to your review this way since you don't have an account here. If you do, it makes it easier for me to answer you. I'm looking forward to seeing your reaction to this concluding chapter.

All my love

-sri